1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blowout hole apparatus which is disposed in a ventilator duct in the air conditioning apparatus for motor vehicles, or the like, in order to regulate the blowout direction of the supplied air.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A prior-art blowout hole apparatus has a structure as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 (see Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model No. 60-45115). At an end portion of a ventilator duct 1, there is provided a housing 3 that has a blowout hole 2 via a sealing member 4. In the housing 3, there are arranged a plurality of transverse louvers 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, and 5e whose end portions on both sides are rotatably supported by the side walls 3a and 3b. The transverse louvers 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, and 5e are linked mutually by a linking rod 6, and on the transverse louver 5c at the center there is provided a projecting knob 7. Further, within the housing 3, there are arranged a plurality of longitudinal louvers 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e with their both ends rotatably supported by the top and the bottom walls 3c and 3d. On the longitudinal louvers 8 a and 8e that are positioned on the left and right ends, there are formed flat plate portions 9, 9 extending respectively toward both side walls 3a and 3b. These longitudinal louvers 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e are linked mutually by a linking rod 10. At the lower end portion of the longitudinal louver 8c that is situated at the center, there is provided a fan-shaped gear 11 which is linked to a knob 12 attached via a rack 13 slidably in the horizontal direction to the edge portion of the blowout hole 2.
In such a device, it is possible to regulate the pointing horizontal direction of the air that is blown out from the blowout hole 2 by turning each of the transverse louvers 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, and 5e in the vertical direction through up and down operation of the knob 7 provided on the transverse louver 5c. In addition, by turning each of the longitudinal louvers 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e in the horizontal direction through a sliding operation to the left or to the right of the knob 12, it is possible to regulate the blowing-out direction of the air. In this case, because of the provision of the flat plane portions 9, 9 on the longitudinal louvers 8a and 8e positioned on the left and right ends, the flows of air A1 and A2 that pass through between the longitudinal louvers 8a and 8e and the side walls 3a and 3b of the housing 3, as shown in FIG. 3, can be suppressed by the flat plane portions 9, 9. Therefore, the influence of the air flows A1 and A2 on the air flow A3 that passes through the spaces between the longitudinal louvers 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e can be suppressed, and as a result, it is possible to improve the directivity of a desired blowing direction.
However, in such prior-art apparatuses, there exist inconveniences, although the air flows A1 and A2 between the side walls 3a and 3b and the longitudinal louvers 8a and 8e can be suppressed sufficiently effectively when the longitudinal louvers 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e are nearly parallel to the side walls 3a and 3b, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 3, due to an effective utilization of the total areas of the flat plane portions 9, 9 that extend perpendicularly. Namely, when the longitudinal louvers 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e are displaced by an angle as shown by the solid line in the figure, the flat plane portions 9, 9 are displaced by the same angle with the rotation of both louvers 8a and 8e, generating increasingly large gaps S1 and S2 between both side walls 3a and 3b and the flat plane portions 9, 9, accompanying the displaced angle of the flat plane portions 9, 9. Because of this, free air flows A1 and A2 through the gaps S1 and S2. In particular, the air flow A3, as shown by the broken line in the figure, between the longitudinal louvers 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e, will be obstructed by the air flow A2 that passes through the gap S2. Because of this, the directivity of the air flow in a desired direction cannot sufficiently be accomplished sufficiently effectively.